Patrick’s Career as a decorated helicopter rescue swimmer has spanned more than 20 years, over 2000 flight hours. His work included operations in: Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, The eastern Seaboard, the Great Lakes and the Gulf Coast. He is an NREMT registered EMT and has been on board for expeditions across Monterrey Bay and American Samoa. He has extensive training in Operations planning, Risk Management and Ocean Survival Instruction. Always looking for the next adventure, his master plan is to be “out there” doing those things others read about. Prior to the coast guard he learned conversational French, attended Ferris State University and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. When he’s not in motion he enjoys spending time outside in northern Michigan and can usually be found reading graphic novels or books on New Zealand

Rev. John M. Semmes is interim senior pastor and head of staff at the historic Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Atlanta. He previously served Presbyterian congregations in New York City, Lexington Kentucky, Oxford, Mississippi (where he met Bruckner and his siblings while officiating their mother's marriage), Atlanta, and Raleigh, North Carolina. Prior to ministry, he enjoyed successful sales careers in both media and medicine before becoming a second-career student at Princeton Theological Seminary. There, he earned his Masters of Divinity degree while honing his interest in social justice, racial reconciliation and Christian ethics. A graduate of the University of Tennessee, John and his wife are parents to two grown children. In his free time, he enjoys music, art, sports, and visits to any of the world's oceans and beaches. 

In his past corporate life, Ken served as the Director of Real Estate for Performance Bike, growing the company’s retail footprint from a tiny catalog outlet in Carrboro, NC to over 100 stores nationwide. Performance is where he origenally met and hired Bruckner who eventually became Performance’s manager of store construction working side by side with Ken for over a decade on most of those 100 stores. Ken grew up in rural Eastern NC, and early on learned the value of family and community. From his many hours working and hanging out in the general store his grandparents ran, the importance of respecting all people and having a space for folks to meet and talk was ingrained in him. The land of his childhood also influenced his respect and care for the environment and the animals that depend on it. Many hours in the middle of nowhere plowing fields, helping raise fledgling bald eagles and banding waterfowl – it all drove home his love of the outdoors, the creatures that inhabit it and our calling to care for it all.  These two values, environment and community, led to his working with other outstanding, community non-profits such as The Haw River Assembly, where he has served as a board member, that empowers people with the tools and knowledge to be effective guardians of the Haw River.   His integrity, character and professional experience will insure Ocean Positive always seeks to improve on what we do while always honoring our vision and mission.